Not Dead Yet
by Rei455
Summary: The story of Sookie Stackhouse's daughter and her adventures in the supernatural world. May contain spoilers up to and including Dead in the Family.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

My name is Kira Stackhouse. I am 18 years old and I have a particular life. I grew up with my uncle Remy and my cousin Hunter. I never knew my mother; she died when I was born. I can't say I miss her, since I never knew her. According to my Uncle I look just like her. I had medium blonde hair and blue eyes (like _Barbie_ my cousin would tease me when we were younger). My cousin and I are…how do I explain? …Different? Yeah we'll go with that. My cousin and I can read people's minds…some better than others, but this little difference has made our lives a bit harder than everyone else's. Although, I must say that Hunter being a telepath, like me, as made things easier. As children we would usually keep to ourselves. One would think that because we can read each other's minds we would get sick of one another but to be completely honest it has actually strengthened our bond to one another. Although, if there is something that I don't really care to share with him I can block him out.

My cousin is three years older than I am and he is a private eye with his own business. I have to say he does well for himself since he can read people's minds to find out who's cheating on who and whether or not someone has lied to him. I can't say I agree with him and his choice of jobs, but who am I to judge? He does his job and he does it well, I don't think anyone would fault him for using his talents. I however, do not like people knowing that I can read their minds. Granted Hunter doesn't out right say "HEY I'M A TELEPATH!" but he is more out of the "closet" than I am. Although I don't like helping my cousin with his job, he does enlist me when he needs to stake out large areas because, as Hunter says, "Two telepaths are better than one."

And this is how we come full circle to me standing in a ballroom dressed like a nit. Earlier this week, Hunter got a job for some local vamps, because they had it on good authority that there was going to be an attack from the Fellowship of the Sun fanatics. Since the local vampires are attempting to "mainstream" as they call it they wanted Hunter to stake out the place and capture the culprits before they caused harm to anyone attending the party. Personally, don't believe that anyone should be judged for what they are be it twoy, vamp, or telepath. Not everyone has my opinion though.

_You doing ok Kiki?_ Hunter asked me silently from across the ballroom. He was dressed very nicely in a black Armani suit with a white shirt and dark blue tie. I could appreciate how handsome my cousin was with his short jet black hair and dark eyes. He was the male version of his mother, who had died when he was four. She had left my uncle Remy and Hunter to become a vampire and she died a second time to another angry vamp.

_Yea, haven't gotten anything yet though…_I answered back silently scanning the room as I did so to give him a mental picture of what I was seeing.

_Ok I'm going to check outside…keep me posted._ And with that, he trotted out the side door.

I sighed, resigned to walking around the groups of oney's, vamps, and the occasional were who were thoroughly enjoying the party. I concentrated on the groups of the breathers since I couldn't read a vampires mind even if I tried. My cousin and I decided that since vampires were dead we couldn't pick up on their brain waves like we could on breathers. I walked around the ballroom "listening" to the same thing over and over again. _I wonder if my hair is straight…Did she just smile at me?...I wonder if I left the light on? _I was beginning to think that the vampires had gotten a bad "tip" when I caught the tall end of anger and violence. Sometimes I don't read people's minds so much as I "hear" feelings that person is having.

I spun on my heel looking for whoever that bad energy came from. I saw him, standing by the orchestra, looking around suspiciously. I straightened my back and marched over to him. I planted the sweetest smile on my face and said, "Hey there might I ask you for a dance?"

He seemed utterly surprised, and sputtered a bit but before he could tell me the 'no' I was getting from his brain, I grabbed his hand and lead him to the dance floor. Touching someone amplifies my 'ability' and I knew that he had planted a few bombs in the ballroom. While I held him on the dance floor spinning us around I sent the locations to my cousin who was still outside.

_On it!_ Was the reply I got from Hunter.

"So," I said a little breathlessly from dancing, "You wanna go out and get some fresh air?"

"Sure." He said without hesitation. He was happy to be getting out of the ballroom and even happier that he was getting out of there with me. I picked up out of his brain that he thought I had a great "rack" and that he wouldn't mind finding out what else I had under my black Ralph Lauren dress. I keep my sweet smile on as we walked out the front where he was pleasantly greeted by the police.

_You get all the bombs?_ I asked Hunter silently.

Hunter bobbed his head in response. _Got the vamp bomb squad on it._

_Ok, I'm going home… _I didn't want to hang around for the fun of secretly getting the bombs out of the building.

_Be careful cous…_

_Will do boss-man. _

I could hear Hunter's laugh in my mind and could feel him mentally shaking his head at me.

I started for my car, which was an uncomfortably long way away for someone who was in high heels. Delving into that man's mind was like diving in a dumpster looking for lost change. I felt really gross at the disgusting thoughts he had had about me while we had been dancing. Five minutes later I had arrived at my car only to see a tall man with brown hair leaning next to my car.

"Uh, hello." I said uncertainly. He was a vamp and really handsome. His hair was long, and tied neatly together with an elastic band. His face was smooth and white, and glowed a bit. I was terribly uncomfortable around vamps because I never knew what they were thinking about. He eyed me with his brown eyes and smiled showing me white teeth and a little fang...

"Hello my dear. Leaving so soon?" his voice was smooth and silky.

"Yeah, I'm awful tired. Well, see you." This guy made me nervous, I could tell he was trying to use his glamour on me, thank God being a telepath means that doesn't work. I pulled my keys out of the small hand bag I had picked up before leaving with the FOS guy.

"You should stay a bit longer the party's not over yet." He had moved to stand right beside me and my car. If he had been any closer he would have had his nose in my ear.

"Thanks ok, I'm not much of a party kinda gal. Thanks anyway though." I kept my smile plastered to my face…I do that when I'm nervous.

Quick as a wink he grabbed my arm as I tried to put my key in the door. "Stay." He commanded. He was trying his damnedest to make me do as he pleased. The look on his face was strained and frustrated that I wasn't sub coming to his glamour.

"I said no." I said through gritted teeth because his grip was starting to crush my arm.

"Is everything ok here, Henry?" Another vamp waltzed up and took in the scene. She was beautiful with long blonde hair and a tight satin dress.

"Y-yea, just helping the madam into her car Pam" Henry said releasing my arm.

"I think she can handle it Henry." She said with a smile.

I could tell Henry didn't appreciate the new vamp, Pam's, appearance. He stalked off in a huff. Pam watched him go then slowly turned back to me. "Sorry about that miss..." she trailed off as she looked at me. Her eyes got round and her jaw went a little slack. I can honestly say that I have never seen a vampire look surprised before.

"Thank you very much for that…Pam was it?"

"Yes…" Her eyes scanned me for a moment before she said, "What is your name?"

"My…my name?...It's…Kira Stackhouse."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I arrived at the small apartment my Uncle and I shared around 1 am. Hunter had moved out a year before so it was just me and uncle Remy. I could tell by the muffled snores coming from his room, uncle was asleep. I stepped into the cramped community bathroom in the hall and jumped in the shower. I scrubbed vigorously trying to get the gross feelings of the FOS guy and the vamp, Henry, off my skin.

After I got out, I slipped into my favorite long pink bathrobe and brushed my teeth. I took a long look in the mirror and sighed. Hunter better come through with all the dough he promised me for doing the little gig. Usually when Hunter helped out the vamps they paid him very well. He had promised me a percentage of that wad when he had told me about it.

I crept to my bedroom and shut the door silently. Although, I am a grown woman my Uncle had a tendency to forget that I could stay up late and come home in the wee hours of the morning. _I really should move out._ I thought absently.

I changed into a pair of pajama pants and a big comfy shirt which had been one of Hunters old p.e. shirts. I slipped into bed and thought about the vampire Pam and her reaction to my name.

She had stared at me with her mouth agape and wide eyes. In a blink she had regained her composer and smiled brightly. "Well, we will have to be seeing you a lot more I think. You and your cousin have been quite helpful tonight. We appreciate it." And with that she was gone. She moved so fast that I couldn't have told you which way she had went.

I turned over on my side thinking hard what that might mean for me and Hunter. I thought maybe I might stay up longer pondering this but sleep crept up on me without me even noticing.

I woke up at 8:30 that morning to my alarm clock screaming at me. I slammed my hand down on the damn thing to shut it up and sat up in bed. I slipped out of bed throwing some clothes on and made a stop off at the bathroom.

As I entered the living room which was also a kitchen I looked around at the small apartment my Uncle and I shared. The furniture was old and had seen better days but that hardly mattered to me so long as it worked. I walked into the kitchen and rummaged around in the fridge for breakfast. I came up with milk so I decided that cereal would be simplest.

As I sat down to eat at the table I noticed a large white envelope sitting on the table. It read _Kira Stackhouse _in big bold letters. I picked it up as I slowly chewed my cereal. _No return address…That's weird._ I turned the giant envelope over examining it and decided that I really wanted to know what this monster-lope was about.

I used the end of my spoon to open the letter and pulled out a stack of papers which had been neatly folded to fit into the envelope. I sat back in the chair and started reading.

_Dear Ms. Stackhouse,_

_I am pleased to inform you that you have been awarded an inheritance of 500,000 dollars, a home, and 20 acres of land. You are required to live in the home in Bon Temps, Louisiana in order to keep the money according to the will. I will be more than happy to go over the terms of the will with you once you arrive in Louisiana._

_Signed,_

_Mr. Cataliades_

My mouth was open. I could tell because my tongue was getting dry. I don't know how long I had been like that but I figured it had started when I read 500,000 dollars. Bon Temps, huh? That's where my mother was born. I didn't know I had any other family living besides Uncle and Hunter. I suddenly felt sad because there was family I had never met but they knew of me. Not only did they know of me but they decided that I should take their home and money and land! I couldn't suppress the smile that spread across my face. My own house…

Uncle Remy came home about 5 pm. I had already made supper and it was sitting on the stove warming when he came in.

"Smells good." Uncle said with a smile.

"It's all done and I just made some tea it's in the fridge."

As he assembled his plate, I poured two glasses of tea for the both of us.

"Didja see the letter that came for ya?"

"Yea…" I said slowly. I had been wondering how I was going to tell my Uncle that I would be leaving. According to the other stack of papers there was a plane ticket and instructions as to who I would be meeting once I landed. According to the instructions I needed to be on the plane _tomorrow._

"Bad news?" My uncle asked looking up at me. I could see the young man he had used to be. The man my Aunt Hadley had fallen in love with. He had medium brown hair which was flecked with gray and dark eyes which held a few crow's feet.

"No…actually" I said slowly handing him the top letter. My uncle leaned back in his chair and read silently. His eyes grew wide and he looked up at me.

"I'm gonna miss you girly." He said with a smile and that's all it took and the dam was broken. I hugged him around the neck and cried like a two-year-old.

"Now you stop that hear?" My uncle said somewhat sternly. "I was gonna kick you out soon anyway." He held my shoulders so that he could look me in the face when he said this. I could tell he was trying hard not to cry himself. My uncle had a big heart, he had raised Hunter and I all by himself. He had never remarried and had only a few girlfriends in between. I honestly believed that he didn't remarry because of how weird Hunter and I were. I felt terrible because secretly I believed we ruined his life.

"Liar." I said sniffing and wiping my eyes.

"Only you and Hunter would know." He said with a small smile. My uncle had come to terms with what Hunter and I were. I suppose he would have to…eventually. "So when you have to meet up with this Cataliades guy?"

I sat down in the chair beside my uncle and looked at the table. "Tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I had spent most of the night packing. It was a little heart breaking to think that I was leaving the only home, the only family I had ever known. My uncle had moved to Little Rock, Arkansas for his job as a construction worker. Hunter and I had grown up in this town granted it was too big to really know anyone and even if we had they probably wouldn't like us much. I tried to think of the positives, I could always call uncle and Hunter; I could come back for a visit whenever I wanted, or they could even come and visit me in my new house! Those thoughts in mind I finished packing and fell into bed and slept.

I woke up at 7. I knew my cousin was in the apartment because I could feel his brainwaves in the living room. _Mornin'_ Hunter said I could feel his sorrow and reluctance to allow me to leave.

_Hunter…I can always come back and visit._ I tried to send him some of my positive energy. I felt the scoff and the rush of anger that I should even consider leaving them.

I laid in bed starring at the ceiling. _Please Hunter…don't make this harder for me._ I begged him silently. I closed my eyes and heard the door creak open.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to…It's just that…I'm going to miss you Kiki." Hunter walked over to the bed and sat beside me.

_And I'll miss you too._ I placed my hand on his and looked into his eyes. Our bond had made us a little closer than most people would be to their cousin. Our mother's had been cousins so whatever kind of cousin that made us, is what we were, but our both being telepaths had made us more like one person. Sometimes to Hunter, we might as well have been.

I look Hunter straight in the face. "I am my own person. I need to live my own life. Please let me go."

Hunter's face was a collage of pain, anger, sorrow, and a little bit of understanding. "I know." He said slowly. _I just can't watch over you in Bon Temps._

I laughed out loud. "You've been watching over me?" _I know how to take care of myself._ Hunter and I both had taken self defense classes and we both had been very good at it (It helps if you know the attackers moves before he does them). I knew Hunter didn't mean to insult me he just felt that as a man he needed to take care of his younger cousin.

_Get outta here so I can get dressed._ I nudged him off the bed with a smile.

He laughed and headed for the door. _So once you get settled I'm gonna come visit you._ I grinned throwing a pillow at him

"Don't expect me to cook for you too!" He had shut the door before the pillow had left my hand. It flopped into the door and slid to the floor. I climbed out of bed and put the clothes I had left out on.

_Bon Temps means 'good times.'_ Hunter informed me silently.

I laughed a little, _Who would name a town Good Times?_

_French people?_ Hunter and I both laughed the airport wasn't too far away from our small apartment. We had been driving only 10 minutes when the exit sign showed us we needed to turn for parking. We drove around the parking garage a few times before we found a spot.

_You got everything?_ Hunter asked as he unloaded the trunk of the sedan.

_Yes mom._ I thought starting to get annoyed because this the 10th time he had asked me that.

_I just don't want you to forget something is all!_ Hunter's face was indignant.

I looked over at him and smiled sadly. _This isn't the last time we'll see each other doofus._

Hunter turned to me with his dark eyes and hugged me tight. _I know..._

We made our way slowly to the entrance of the airport. It wasn't very big but it definitely wasn't small either. We picked our way to baggage check line and then to the ticket line. I looked down at the ticket then back up to Hunter.

_If you need anything…_He started

I grinned, _More like if you need anything._ Hunter flushed a little because I had never asked Hunter for anything. _But I will call you if I do…Thank you cousin. _He hugged me again briefly then turned and walked away. I felt my heart go into my stomach and I turned to the ticket lady and handed her mine.

"Thank you for choosing Anubis Air." She said in a somewhat robotic voice. She didn't like her job and she didn't like her heals or her boss or this blonde bimbo who was starring at her.

"Ah, uh, thank you." I said and scuttled off.

After about a half hour of lines did I finally board the plane. I had never been on a plane before and I was terribly excited and scared. I found my seat next to the window and sat down. I looked around and saw that there weren't many people on this plane.

"Would you like anything to drink Ms. Stackhouse?" The stewardess asked me politely.

"May I have a Coke please?"

"Of course" she said opening a cooler in her little cart. "Is there anything else you require?"

"No ma'am, thank you though."

While the plane was in line to take off the stewardess showed the passengers what to do in case of emergency. I felt as if I should be taking notes but everyone else on board just ignored her. I had buckled my safety belt as soon as I had sat down but I double check it when a voice came on the over head and stated that this would be a 30 minute flight to Shreveport.

As predicted it had only been a 30 minute flight and I really hoped I would never have to get onto a plane again. The take-off and landing didn't set well with me although the middle part was fine. I noticed that the fight I was on was unloading rather curious items from the plane. They looked a lot like _coffins._ I cringed I had been on a plane with sleeping vamps.

After collecting my bags from baggage claim, I made my way out of the hanger and onto the side walk it was still relatively early in the day. As I scanned the area for my contact (_Diantha_ the instructions had informed) me I spotted an odd looking woman who was probably in her 30s. She had spiked dark red hair and she was dress like she was going to go clubbing. She had on black short shorts and garters which held black and bright red stockings. She had on ankle high (what looked to me like) combat boots and a black tub top which had bright red straps and buckles crossing her breasts. When she saw me looking at her she smiled and quickly crossed the area between us.

"Dianthanicetameetya."

I blinked. It took me a minute to realize that she was my contact and that I needed to stay hello as well.

"Uh, Hello my name is Kira Stackhouse." I held out my hand to shake hers. I realized that she wasn't quite human. I couldn't really read her thoughts but she didn't have the same vibe as weres or shifters did. She smiled at me showing me perfectly white teeth which were rather sharp.

"Youlooklikeyourmama." She said and again I found myself trying to decipher what she had just said. "Your bags?" she inquired.

"Y-yea." I stuttered a bit embarrassed because the only people who had known my mother had been my uncle and Hunter (and Hunter barely remembered her). I wanted to ask her about my mom but she had already bounded off with my suitcase and was depositing them into the trunk of a sleek black Chrysler. I had to jog to catch up with the quick Diantha who had already jumped into the driver's side of the car.

I watched as we passed through Shreveport. Although it wasn't as big as Little Rock it was rather large. Diantha had turned the radio on making conversation hard. I got the impression that Diantha wasn't much of a talker. We zipped through town and took the highway going toward my new home. I shifted in the seat uncomfortable with the silence and excited about seeing the home which had been left to me by the unknown relative. It took about 45 minutes to arrive in the small…small town of Bon Temps. I gazed out the window of the Chrysler taking everything that I could while we sped along. There really was nothing to see. A few shops here and there a single strip mall and lots and lots of trees.

We turned off onto a road which's sign read _Hummingbird Road_. I held my breath as we turned into a long drive way which led to a neat old white house. It had a tin roof which shone brightly in the bright mid afternoon sun. It had a screened in porch and was decently sized. The house stood in the middle of a clearing. _Private_. I thought absently. I instantly loved the old house.

Diantha parked in the front of the house but I could tell there was a little path for a car to pull around back. I noted another car was parked in front of the house and as we stepped out of the car a round man stepped out of the other.

"Hello Ms. Stackhouse, my name is Mr. Cataliades. It is a pleasure to meet you." He extended his hand and I shook it. He wasn't human, well not fully human. I found myself wondering just what they were. Mr. Cataliades was round, round face, round body. He had a very courtly air about him.

"It's very nice to meet you too Mr. Cataliades." I said, his politeness was a bit contagious I thought.

"Well, I am very sure that you would like to take a look at your new home?" He said with a pleasant smile on his face. Mr. Cataliades reached into his pocket and withdrew a key handing it to me. "If you would like we can go over the terms of the will now or we can wait until you are more settled?"

"I think later would be better…" I said slowly trying to take in everything all at once.

"That is just fine Ms. Stackhouse I understand how taxing traveling can be. I will be in touch later on this week then. If that is acceptable?"

"Yes, I think that will be just fine." I said with a smile turning back to Mr. Cataliades and Diantha who had deposited my bags beside me.

"If you need anything do not hesitate to call me." He handed me one of his business cards which he had pulled from his jacket pocket.

"Thank you very much." I said.

I watched them both get into their respective cars and pull away. I sighed. I felt really alone at this moment. I looked back up at the old white house and smiled as I ascended the stairs of my new house my bags in tow. _This is the beginning of my new life._


	4. Chapter 4

I am so very pleased with the positive feedback and interest in my story! I hope that you enjoy chapter 4 and the future chapters to come! I enjoy reading feedback and constructive criticism. And now without further ado! Chapter 4!

**Chapter 4**

What had I expected? …Certainly not this. The house was old; indeed, it also apparently had not been lived in for a while. A thick layer of dust covered everything. I dropped my bags by the door and wandered around the house kicking up dust as I went. The furniture was old worn and covered with white sheets. There were old books in the book shelf with yellowing pages. I continued into the hallway and found my way to the kitchen. Although most of the house looked old the kitchen looked remotely new, even covered with dust I could tell that the last person had really loved the kitchen. Exiting the kitchen I continued deeper into the hall way and found a set of stairs, a bathroom (with an old claw bathtub), a spare bedroom and a master bedroom with a connecting bathroom. I explored the upstairs and found another bedroom and what looked to be a sitting room.

I knew I would need help repairing a few things about the old house. For one thing one of the top stairs was about to give way and I would need someone to fix it so I wouldn't come flying through the stairs one day. I decided that until it was fixed I wouldn't go up stairs. I would need to go to town and find a repair man along with some food…I was starved. I came to the sudden realization that I did not have a car and I hazard a guess that there wasn't a bus that would come out this way to take me into town. I sighed and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. I hadn't been sitting long when a knock at the door made me jump very nearly out of my skin. I hurried to the door and peeked through the peep hole.

A young man with light blonde hair and blue eyes was standing on the other side. He was around my age and he was wearing a Louisiana State University tee-shirt with jeans. I opened the door slowly, "Hello…?" I said uncertainly.

"Uh Hello, you Ms. Kira?" he said just as uncertainly.

"Yea…that's me."

"My dad wanted me to come by and see if you needed any help movin' in." I just stared at him confused. He was my COUSIN? Or at least that's what I had heard in his brain. His dad was my mother's brother? I had more family? I had another uncle? Uncle Jason…How had I not known this? I could only suppose that my uncle Remy hadn't known because there is no way that he could have kept that kind of secret from Hunter and me.

The boy looked at me like I was crazy. I'm sure the look on my face didn't help him think any different. He cleared his throat and said quietly, "You look a lot like your mom."

I looked him in the eye, "Did you know her?"

"No, she died before I was born, but my dad…your uh…Uncle has a bunch of pictures." He looked a little sheepish that he hadn't mention earlier that we were related. He had been a little caught off guard by my appearance. I got that a lot. People would stare at me a lot and they would get kind of side tracked with what they were saying. Something about my eyes I heard from one old lady at my favorite book store back in Little Rock. "My name is Dillon Stackhouse."

I smiled at Dillon, my new found cousin, "It's a pleasure to meet you Dillon. I do in fact need some help if you don't mind drivin' me around?"

"It's what I'm here for Ms. Kira." He beamed. He had a great smile every tooth was in the right place and it was a healthy white. I could tell he was a popular kid in his school, probably in town as well. He had been a little worried about meeting me because he was worried I would be some kinda ugly and he was grateful that I was good looking.

"Just call me Kira." I said pleasantly. "I need to find a repair man and I need to get some food." I was a little annoyed at Dillon with the whole shallowness of his nature but I forgave him since he was still only just a guy. I could tell a lot about Dillon and I didn't even have to read his mind. He was one of the popular kids at school and had all the girls flock to him. He played sports and enjoyed partying. I could tell that Dillon would get along but we would never be best buds or anything like that.

"That's not a problem. My dad could probably fix whatever's broken in there although it'll probably be Saturday before he can get to it." Dillon was really proud of his father that much I could tell even if I hadn't picked it out of his brain. He wanted to be just like him when he grew up. I got a pretty clear picture of my new uncle from my cousin Dillon. He was tall of medium build and had the same blonde hair that his son did. Although, he had a more relaxed feel to him you could tell that when he was a younger man he had been just like Dillon.

"That's fine." I said with a smile. I figured there really wasn't anything up stairs I really needed to get to so Saturday would be fine with me. "I gotta get some things together before we go if that's ok?"

"Fine with me." He said with an easy smile.

I headed back into the house and rummaged around in my bag for my purse and checkbook which Mr. Cataliades had added in the huge envelope he had sent to my old home in Little Rock. I silently thanked the forces that be for the huge amount that had been left to me. I rushed back to Dillon who was still standing on the porch.

"Ready." I said swinging my purse around my shoulder. We headed to his truck which was a relatively old Dodge Ram but still in great shape. Dillon really cared about his truck that much I could tell by the condition it was in. It was black with aqua and pink swirls on the side. I raised an eyebrow at his choice in colors and he looked a bit embarrassed.

"It was my dad's old truck when he was younger…" He tried to act nonchalant about the paint job but he found my distain a little disheartening.

"I think it's kinda cool." I told him to try and sooth his bruised ego. He had many a girl tell him that they loved his truck. "I bet nobody in town has a tuck like this one."

He seemed placated by this comment and with that we both hopped into the truck and drove into town. We stopped off at the local Wal-mart and I purchased cleaning supplies, toiletries, and a few other necessary essentials. It seemed as though everyone in this town knew everyone else. It was a little weird for me. The first man we met when we walked into Wal-mart commented on how much older Dillon had become and when he saw me he completely stopped talking. The man's face turned white and when Dillon introduced me his color came back to a bright red. Dillon and the man talked for a bit longer said his goodbye to us both and was off down the next aisle. It seemed this was the reaction I was going to get for a while because everyone else we spoke to had the same reaction.

As we walked back to the truck with my purchases my stomach started to complain. Dillon looked at me and laughed out loud. "Hungry much?"

"I'm starved. I haven't had anything to eat since I left Little Rock."

"Well, we'll just have to do something about that than!"

We loaded up the truck and were off. I had no idea where since it honestly seemed to me like we were headed back to Shreveport, but before we got too far from town we pulled into a little parking lot which apparently belonged to the restaurant Merlotte's. It wasn't much to look at but apparently the locals thought it was good enough for lunch because they were packed. We ended up having to park around the side. I noticed that there was a trailer not too far from the bar.

We both made our way into the bar Dillon went first and I instantly heard hoots and hollers from friends and fans. It became just as silent when I walked through the door. I could feel my cheeks heat up from all the stares I was obtaining from the lunch crowd at Merlottes. Dillon led me to a table located near the back of the establishment.

"Why is everyone starring at me all the time?" I whispered irritated.

Dillon put his hand up to cover the side of his mouth which was facing the crowd. "It's 'cos you look like your mother just like her actually...and nobody knew Sookie had any kids."

"Oh," was all I could really manage. I wasn't really all that surprised that they hadn't known about me. Hell, I sure didn't know about them until this morning. The waitress sashayed up to us and asked us for our drink orders. I ordered a Coke and Dillon a sweet tea. The waitress, who's name was Bethany, had gone to school with Dillon and who had also dated him for a while as well. She was trying awful hard to get back with him and I didn't really need to read her mind to know that. She stayed and talked to Dillon when she could have gotten our drink orders along with our food twice. When she finally left to fill our drink order I told Dillon her ought to ask Ms. Bethany out. With a raised eyebrow and a sly smile he said he would think about it.

Bethany came back in record time and gave us our drinks. I ordered the chicken strips while Dillon ordered the Layafette burger. While Dillon and Bethany chatted I looked around the small restaurant. I suddenly realized that the older man behind the bar was looking directly. I snapped my head away and attempted to look at the man behind the curtain of my hair. From what I could see he was in his late 40s but he still had reddish blonde hair that fell into ringlets around his head. He had a little stubble and a few wrinkles around his eyes and mouth but I could tell that when he was younger he had been very handsome. I could also tell without looking at him that he was of the two natured. His brain waves were like a red buzz.

After Bethany left with our orders I asked Dillon who the guy behind the bar was.

"Oh, him? That's Sam…Sam Merlotte. He owns the bar. Pretty much started from scratch and built it up and made it a pretty profitable place."

"What is he?" I asked cautiously.

"Heh… He turns into a dog." Dillon didn't seem too impressed with the owner of the bar. If it were up to him he would turn into a panther like his dad.

My eyes went wide, "YOUR dad turns into a WHAT?" I was a little hoarse at the moment.

Dillon's eyes went just as wide as mine felt. "Uh…" I had done a good job of keeping my 'listening' to a minimum but there really is no good way to block someone who is a 'broadcaster' out. "I didn't say my dad turned into nothin'."

I decided that since he was willing to ignore what I had just done then the better, "Oh I'm sorry I thought you said something about your dad." I looked away wishing like hell the food would hurry up.

We didn't have to wait long before Bethany showed up with two hot plates of food showed up. I was starved so conversation was nonexistent. I have always had a big appetite and Hunter refers to my eating habits to that of a rabid bear. I guess he was on to something there because as soon as I dug in Dillon's face was that of shock and surprise.

"What?" I asked after swallowing a big bite.

Dillon blinked a few times and shook his head and started eating his burger.

I, of course, was done before Dillon and I decided that since he had driven me around all day I would get his part of the ticket as well. Bethany thought that I was trying to get on Dillon's good side by buying his meal and she gave me a few hateful glares. I can honestly say that I couldn't have cared less.

After I took care of the tab we made our way to the door Dillon received many goodbyes and I got a few nods from the patrons. We walked back to the truck in silence. We drove back to my new home and Dillon helped me carry my things inside.

"If you need me to help you out with any cleaning here's my number." He handed me a ripped scrap of paper. He really hoped I would NOT call him tomorrow. I was just a little too weird for his tastes. I thanked him for all his trouble and slipped the piece of paper into my pocket.

"If you could keep an ear out for any cars that are for sale could you let me know?" I really needed a car so I wouldn't have to call Dillon every time I needed to go out and get something.

"Sure thing," He started walking to the door, "and Kira?" I looked him in the eye waiting for him to tell me what I already knew he was going to say. "Welcome to Bon Temps."

"Thanks Dillon." I said with a smile and with that he was gone.

My new life was definitely going to be interesting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

It was 5:30 that evening when I had another visitor. I had been cleaning my new house and had managed to dust the living room and dispose of the sheets which had been coving the furniture. I had to throw out the rug which had been in the living room because it was rather old, and had too many holes. I swept and mopped the wood floors until they shined. I had just begun working on the kitchen when the knock disrupted my scrubbing of the kitchen counters.

I looked through the peep-hole and saw a tall handsome older man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing dusty old pants with mud incrusted boots. His shirt was a plain white button up shirt which had many stains on it. He looked nervous standing on my porch with a red hat in his hands. I slowly opened the door, "Hello, may I help you?" I wondered to myself if random visitors were a thing in Bon Temps.

He stood for a good minute looking at me and I at him. He was one of the two natured, I could tell by the red buzz that surrounded his brain. I suddenly realized who this man was. He was trying to come up with the best words to tell me just who he was and he could not figure out the best way to say, _'Hi I'm your uncle you never knew you had.'_ He wanted to tell me that he never knew about me. By damned if he did he would have raised me. He wished that he could have been with his sister when she passed he wondered how it had happened, but more than anything at this moment he wanted to tell me how sorry he was and that he loved me and that I would from now on always have a home.

Before another thought came to his head I held my uncle Jason tight around his chest. His first response was surprise which slowly turned to understanding. He understood what I was and he accepted it, appreciated it in this moment because it just made things easier. He hugged me tight and when I looked up into his face I could see tears forming in his eyes.

"Please come in," I said a little hoarse because I was getting choked up as well.

"Thank you." He said politely. He had so many questions buzzing around in his brain and a lot of emotions too. He looked around the living room then back to me. "You're not gonna stay here tonight are ya girl?"

I flushed a little I was embarrassed that the house looked so badly even though it was of no fault of my own and I had thought to sleep on the couch since I hadn't had time to get to the bedroom. "Ah, well."

"You can stay in the spare bedroom at my place; Michele would love to meet you." He didn't want me to stay out here alone like his sister had. "Michele has already got food cooked you should come stay until the house is cleaned up some."

"I really appreciate it." I really honestly did; however awkward the whole situation was. My Uncle seemed to want to make up for all the lost time. I packed a few things into a gym bag and we headed out the door. Climbing into his truck with my things in tow we went down my drive and turned left down Hummingbird Road.

"You know you look just like Sookie." He said as we made our way to his home.

"I have been getting that a lot since I came to town." I said slowly. "I never knew her. She died shortly after I was born. Uncle Remy told me that something happened after I was born and they couldn't stop the bleeding."

The silence was thick and for a moment I was scared that my new uncle would blame me for my mother's death. I know on more than one occasion I did, but when I looked at my uncle I could see that it wasn't blame he was feeling but sorrow. He had never told his sister goodbye just as he had never been able to tell his mother, father, or even grandmother goodbye. I touched his arm unable to come up with anything to say. The rest of the car trip was silent.

As we pulled into the small drive way I noticed that the house my Uncle owned wasn't big but it wasn't tiny either. Everything in the yard was neat and trim and I thought I caught a glance of a pond in the back yard. Parking in the drive way was a bit crowded with Dillon's truck, my uncle's truck, and my aunt Michele's car. We stepped out of the truck and before we even got to the door it flew open and my new Aunt stood in the door way. Aunt Michele had dark hair and a lot of make-up on. She smiled brightly and took me up into her arms when I was in range.

"It's soo good to meet you!" She emphasized the so a bit too much, but I could tell that was only because she meant it. "Come on in you two dinner's gettin' cold." She ushered us into the house. Dillon was already at the table eating what looked like pork chops, mashed potatoes covered it brown gravy, black eyed peas, and fried squash. Dillon looked up and smiled mouth full of food while my aunt pointed me toward a chair and brought me my own plate piled high with the same food.

"What would you like to drink dear?" she asked me politely. "We have sweet tea or lemonade."

"Tea will be fine." I said with a smile. After she brought me a glass she settled down into a seat next to my uncle Jason. I hadn't realized just how hungry I was until we had walked through the door and the smell of food hit me. For the better part of the meal we were silent, everyone eating.

"We're so glad to have you in Bon Temps." My aunt was the first to break the silence.

"I am very glad to be here ma'am." I said politely.

"Don't you ma'am me missy. You just call me Auntie hear?" she said with a big smile.

After the dinner was done Dillon went into the living room to watch television and my aunt did the dishes while my uncle and I hung back in the small kitchen and talked a while. He asked me who had raised me and I told him about my uncle Remy and Cousin Hunter. I found that he didn't even know that Hadley had ever married or that she had a son. This information disturbed me a bit. After a short lull in the conversation I asked, "What was my mom like?"

My uncle paused for a minute and then said, "She loved her family. She always wanted to help people in any way that she could, even if that meant gettin' herself in a heap of trouble." He shook his head at the memory. "She never did date any normal people. She was a little eccentric with her choice of boyfriends."

I could feel my eyes widen, this conversation was a little weird. I cleared my throat a bit to try and stifle my embarrassment. My mind was wondering just what _eccentric_ boyfriends she had and then wondered at what kind of _eccentric_ my father had been.

"Usually," my uncle said pulling me back into the conversation, "she dated vampires."

"Vampires?" I asked incredulously.

My uncle answered with a nod. "Her first boyfriend lives across the cemetery from you. His name is Bill Compton. One of the only vampires I can stand to be around honestly."

This was a lot to take in. Vampires always made me a bit nervous, due to the fact that I never knew what they were thinking. It was a surprise to me that my mother would actually like spending time with someone who could be thinking about taking a big bite out of your jugular (Some people get off on that, _Fangbangers_ people call them, not me though I like my blood to stay in my body). To top it off my mom's first boyfriend was sitting right next to my house how odd would that first conversation be? _Hi my name is Kira Stackhouse I'm your ex-girlfriend's daughter that nobody knew about! _I wondered if the vamp would hold some sort of ill will against me since I was his ex-girlfriend's kid, but my uncle did say that he was a tolerable vamp so maybe everything would be ok.

It was late when my uncle showed me the spare room I would be sleeping in. He kissed me gingerly on the head and headed toward his own room. The spare room was simple and clean. I couldn't have asked for anything more. I noted that while my uncle and I had been talking my aunt had placed my bag on the twin size bed. I opened the bag and pulled out a pair of pajama bottoms and top. I slipped into the shorts and spacious top and crawled under the covers. It wasn't more than 5 minutes and I was asleep.

I dreamed about my mother in the arms of Henry the vampire. She had a smile on her face and his face showed hunger and lust in the way only vampires have. His fangs were fully extended and he turned and faced me while tipping my mother's head back exposing her neck. While looking directly at me he sunk his fangs into her neck and starting _feasting._

I woke with a start. It was 9 in the morning according to the digital clock by the bed. I got up slowly out of bed trying to shake the dream off. I put on a pair of shorts and a gray green v-neck top which read _Rock._ I could tell that my aunt and uncle were gone and that Dillon was in the living room. I slipped into the hallway with my tooth brush and took care of my morning ritual. I returned to my borrowed room and replaced my hair and toothbrush in my bag.

When I came into the living room Dillon sitting on the couch with his legs propped on the coffee table. "Mornin'." he said causally returning back to the television.

"Good morning." I said.

"You sleep good?"

"Yea, I hadn't realized I was so tired." I fidgeted a bit. "Uh, Dillon…" I said pulling his attention from the television to me. "Could you drop me off at my house? I need to finish cleaning."

"Oh yea, sure." He got up from the couch with some reluctance. He had figured I would abandon the old house out in the middle of the woods and live with them. He had already made plans to see Bethany today since it was her day off and he was a little annoyed that he would have to be babysitting me. I grabbed my purse from my loaned room and we headed out the door. The drive to my house was quiet and once we arrived I told Dillon I didn't need any help he perked up quite a bit.

"Well then," he said pleasantly, "I'll see ya around!" And with that he was off down the drive way.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning, scrubbing, sweeping, and mopping. I had stopped to eat a whole bag of Doritos and drink a warm soda out of the can around 12 for lunch. When I had bought food yesterday from Wal-mart I knew that the fridge probably needed to be cleaned out or even replaced so I had bought things that wouldn't spoil. By the time my uncle Jason arrived the whole first floor was clean.

"Been busy I see." He said as he stepped through the door taking a look around. I beamed at him. I was really proud of myself. "Dillon told me you needed a few repairs around the house."

"Yea I do. One of the stairs is kinda unstable I was wondering if you could take a look at it and I don't know if any of the appliances work."

My uncle Jason stepped out to his truck to retrieve his tool box then set to work. He started in the kitchen with the refrigerator. I felt that I would be in the way so rather than hover over him while he worked I told him to call me if he needed any help. He said he would and I headed to the spare bedroom on the bottom floor to finish cleaning out the little closet. Most of the things in this closet were corroded and I had been piling it into trash bags. As I picked up the last pieces of trash from the closet I noticed something funny about the carpet. It looked to me that it wasn't glued the way it was suppose to be, _Just something else I'll need to get fixed._ I picked up the trash bag I had been filling and exited the room.

As I entered the kitchen my uncle informed me that the refrigerator worked and that I should give it at least a day before I started storing food in it. He started working on the oven while I pulled out the Clorox to begin cleaning the fridge. We continued work in silence and uncle Jason finished checking out the oven and said that it just needed a good scrub down. Picking up his tools he headed out the back door and onto the back porch to check the washer and dryer. Soon after I finished the fridge I started scrubbing the stove top. It didn't take my uncle long to decide that the washer and dryer both would need to be replaced.

"I really appreciate you helping me out." I said as I scrubbed the inside of the oven.

"That's what families for." He said placing his tool box on the old kitchen table. He was thinking about my mother again. He was missing her and his grandmother who had lived in this house for so long.

I looked over at him. "My…my mom lived here?" I asked slowly. It hadn't dawned on me just who had left me this house, the land, and the money.

My uncle looked at me; however many times Sookie would pick up on things that no one had said he never really got used to it. "You didn't know?" He asked after he had recovered from the shock of me reading his mind.

"No…"

"After our parents died when we were young we moved here to live with our grandmother. After our grandmother died Sookie lived here."

I stared at my uncle unbelieving. This was where my mother grew up. These things, all of this, had been hers?


	6. Chapter 6

Ok so my internet has been acting up lately, so that's why it has taken me so long to upload a new chapter. I apologize for the wait, but I now proudly present to you Chapter 6! In this chapter, things start to progress a bit and we meet up with one of my FAVE vamps. Hope you enjoy!

P.S. Thanks for all the reviews! I love reading them! You-all are great! :DD

P.S.S. I have pictures for a few of the characters and outfits but I do not know enough about html or computers to be able to put them up. If anyone could help me out with this, send me a message and I will be more than happy to post them! (I personally love pictures to go along with a story :P) ANYWAY! On to the story!

**Chapter 6**

I decided to stay with my Aunt and Uncle again that night. It was late by the time we got to his house and Auntie and Dillon had already gone to bed. I had asked uncle Jason if I might bring the bed sheets and clothes (which had not been destroyed by the moths, there really wasn't a lot…) over to wash at his house, of course he said. Uncle had gone to bed a little while after we got home but I decided to stay up and finish the load which was in the washer. I was sitting in the living room sketching when a noise from outside caught my attention. It was a loud _THUD_ I assumed it was an animal of some sort; being that I grew up in the city we really didn't have very many animals besides dogs and cats. I decided that it made since being that we were practically in the woods, so I ignored it and continued sketching faces at random. At around 3 I unloaded the washer and threw everything into the dryer. I returned to the living room and sat heavy on the couch I was dog tired from the day and before I knew it I was asleep.

I was dreaming about my mother again. She was a little girl and she was laughing and running in the yard of the house I now owned. I called out to her but she kept running and she was no longer laughing. She was scared and she was running away from me. No matter how fast I ran I couldn't catch her.

I woke with a start to the sound of the dryer buzzing. I got up drowsily stumbling a bit making my way to the dryer. I pulled out the sheets and folded them neatly and placed them off to the side. I made my way to the spare room and collapsed into bed.

I awoke to the sound of my cell phone going off, it was 11 and I had to scramble to find the phone buried in the bottom of my purse. When I finally answered the phone it was Mr. Cataliades wanting to know if I could meet him tonight to discuss the legacy which had been left to me. I said that would be fine and asked what time.

"Diantha will pick you up at 5:30 if that is an acceptable time?"

"Yes, that would be fine." I said.

"Oh, and Miss Stackhouse…"

"Yes?"

"Formal wear would be most appropriate." And with that he hung up.

_Okay…_

I grabbed clothes to wear for the day along with my toothbrush and headed to the bathroom. After I took a shower I brushed my teeth and returned to the spare room to replace my toothbrush in my bag. I dug out my hairbrush and began brushing out the rat tails that had started to form. As I finished my Aunt knocked on the door.

"We're going shopping!" she said excitedly.

Half an hour later we were sifting through the racks at a place called "Tara's Togs." From what I could tell this was probably the nicest clothing store in Bon Temps. My Aunt had handed me a good arm full of clothes to try on while she looked around for more. On the car ride here my aunt told me that she was excited to have a niece to go shopping with and that she had always wanted a little girl to do "girl stuff" with. I wondered to myself if my mom had lived would we be doing stuff like this? I pushed the thought away as I slipped the spaghetti straps of a light pink dress on. The top looked like a ribbon wrapped around a few times while the bottom flowed out into six layers stopping at my knees. I thought it was a really cute dress. I pushed back the red curtain to the dressing room for my aunt's judgment on the dress.

"Oh…" it was more of a cooing noise than anything else. "You look beautiful."

I could feel my face getting hot as she made me turn in a circle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a woman come into the shop from the backroom. She had dark hair and very tan skin. Her hair was tied into a neat bun at the base of her neck.

"Oh Tara!" my Aunt called waving the woman over. "Doesn't she look beautiful?"

Tara gave me a warm smile, "Yes she does."

"Where are my manners? This is my niece Kira. She's Sookie's daughter."

I was beginning to feel like I should be in a museum.

"You've been causin' quite a fuss around town Miss Kira." Tara said teasingly.

"I'm sure I didn't mean to cause problems." I said, if someone had cracked an egg at that moment and put it on my face I'm certain it would have cooked.

Tara laughed, "Don't worry honey. Not a lot of stuff happens here in Bon Temps. You moving to town has added some spice to our lives."

At that moment a loud crash brought our attention to a young man about two years older than me. He was tall and handsome with blonde hair and blue eyes. He had a little cleft in his chin when he smiled abashed that he had dropped the box full of jewelry. Tara watched him wishing that he had gone to college like his twin sister had.

"Brendon this is Kira, Michele's niece." Brendon looked up from where he had been picking up bracelets and rings. "Kira this is Brendon, my son."

"Hello." He said with an easy smile. I smiled politely in response. He was like the boy-next-door and a bit on the dull side I found after a quick "_listen."_ He was the quietest human I had ever come across.

"Ok!" my Aunt said excitedly pushing me back behind the curtain and into the dressing room. "Try on the others now!"

It was a good hour before we left Tara's Togs with an arm full of bags. Brandon had been there every time I had pushed back the curtain of the dressing room to catch a glance at me and the clothes I wore. It was a little unnerving. We got home around 1 and while Auntie made lunch I put all of my new purchases away in my room. Since Dillon and my uncle Jason were gone it was just me and aunt Michele. We had sandwiches with sour crème and onion chips.

"I have to be back at my house at 5:30. Mr. Cataliades wants to meet with me about the terms of the will."

I said after I finished the last chip on my plate. She still had a few chips left on her plate. "He said it was a formal wear thing."

My Aunt looked at me then, beaming. "Don't you worry sweetie! I'll do your hair and make-up!"

My Uncle dropped me off at my house at 5:15. He looked me straight in the eye worry written all over his face.

"You sure you don't want me to go with you?"

"I'll be alright." I reassured him for the 50th time.

I got out of the truck carefully. I thought maybe the heels were a little bit excessive but my Auntie had insisted they went perfectly with my baby blue dress I was wearing. It tied at the back of my neck and had a silk ribbon which wrapped around the front into a bow. It fell just before my knees showing off my long legs. My Aunt had gone to town with my hair. The best way I could describe it would be a fancy bun with tendrils of curls coming out here and there.

"Call me if you need anything." It was an order rather than an offer.

"I will." I said as I shut the door. It wasn't 5 minutes later when Diantha's car pulled into the drive way. I had just settled into the wing backed chair in the living room when I heard the crunch of the gravel in my drive way. Diantha knocked a moment later. When I opened the door I noticed Diantha enjoyed changing the color of her hair and she also enjoyed wearing skimpy clothing. Her once red hair was now black and she was wearing a blood red bustier and a black strip around her hips which I assumed was her skirt. She had on fish net black tights and her heels were impossibly high and I felt embarrassed to have thought mine were high.

"Heytherehowyadoin?" she asked in one breath.

"I'm very well, thank you." I said after a moment's pause.

"Ready?"

"Yes." I said securing my purse on my shoulder.

The car ride was silent until I asked, "Where are we going?"

"Shreveport."

I wanted to ask more questions but I picked up that I would find out soon enough. As we came into Shreveport I took notice of my surroundings. We were in the richer part of Shreveport. The houses were bigger, the cars nicer, and the shops classier. We pulled into a cluster of shops shaped like a big L. At the end of the L was a fancy restaurant called _Le Deux Poisson._ We stopped in front of the restaurant and got out. Diantha lead the way opening the door for me. Classic piano music filtered out into the night as we stepped inside. The foyer was dimly lit and what looked like a Persian rug covered the floor. A small fountain added to the soothing sounds of _Le Deux Poisson._ A tall mean wearing a silk white shirt and an expensive suit smiled as we entered.

"Hello Ladies," he said his eyes roamed over my body then over to Diantha's. "…table for two?"

"We're with the Cataliades party." Diantha said clearly.

"Oh yes." The man's face went virtually white. "Right this way, ladies."

We followed the man to the back of the restaurant. Our table was screened off from the others affording us privacy. The man pulled out my chair and I sat politely. The first person I saw was Mr. Cataliades. He greeted me genteelly. Across from me at the table was a very handsome vampire with long blonde hair and ice blue eyes.

"Miss Stackhouse may I introduce Mr. Eric Northman." Mr. Northman nodded, as is the way of greeting with vampires. "He was married to Mrs. Sookie Stackhouse through vampiric traditions."

I thought my jaw might hit the table. Mr. Cataliades pulled out a stack of papers from his brief case.

"Mr. Northman is also a part of Sookie's will so you are both required to be here this evening."

I looked at Mr. Northman taking in his strong jaw, his perfect lips, and the light glow his skin had as all vampires do. When my eyes made their way back to his I noticed he was looking at me intently as well. I could feel my face getting hot, there was no way this man…vampire could be my father. Vampires couldn't father children, but what if my mother had met him before he had been turned. But no, I knew better than that, this vampire had an old world feel to him. His eyes held centuries of memories. I could see him clearly swinging a sword and felling his enemies better than seeing him at some desk job.

"Your mother's will states that you are entitled to her home along with the land that she owned which comes to 20 acres and what she left you in her bank account which comes to 500,000 dollars." Mr. Cataliades read from one of his many pieces of paper. "You are required to live in the home in order to keep your inheritance otherwise they will all be awarded to Mr. Northman."

I looked to Mr. Northman then. His expression had not changed. "Oh and," Mr. Cataliades pulled a large envelope from his brief case and handed it to me. "Your mother also left you this." I looked at it, in simple print it read _Kira Stackhouse._ I placed the envelope into my purse to look at once I had some time to myself.

"Now," Mr. Cataliades said as he got to his feet. "It has been a pleasure serving you both. Until next we meet Miss Stackhouse, Mr. Northman."

I had forgotten about Diantha until she appeared by Mr. Cataliades side. She smiled and gave me a little wave and with that they were gone leaving me alone with Eric Northman, my mother's vampire husband.


	7. Chapter 7

I dedicate this chapter to the band Kidneythieves who are AwEsOmE! In this chapter we learn some new things which… you know make things interesting. :D I decided to end this chapter in a bit of a cliff hanger…just 'cos I'm mean like that. D *Muahahaha!*

Thanks to all of you who left me reviews! I love love love reading them! I won't hold you up any longer with no further a-do I present chapter 7!

**Chapter 7**

It had been a little less awkward with Mr. Cataliades there to distract me. Now that he was gone there was nothing to do but try to make conversation with Mr. Northman. The waitress stopped by shortly after Mr. Cataliades left us. Mr. Northman ordered a bottle of TruBlood O positive and I ordered a Caesar salad. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat while Mr. Northman sat unmoving, unblinking staring at me. I belatedly wondered how I was going to get home…

"How old are you?" Mr. Northman finally said his voice was sex on a stick (I understood why my mom liked him so much). I jumped a little because I hadn't been expecting him to speak and the question had caught me off guard.

"Eighteen." I said slowly. "How old are you?" I added, well he had asked my age I supposed I could ask him the same.

He thought a moment, _probably counting_, "Over a thousand." He said with a grin as my eyes widened.

This vampire was very, very old and if what they said about vampires is true then that meant he was very, very powerful as well. _Maybe that's what drew my mother to him?_

"Where were you born?" He asked. It seemed to me that he was either just throwing questions out there to keep the conversation going or he was trying to get answers out of me. I couldn't figure out what it was he really wanted to know and it wasn't like the questions were hurting or too terribly personal so I decided to answer honestly.

"Arkansas."

"Where did you live before you moved here?"

"Same place." I decided that it was an honest answer if not the most detailed one. I really didn't want any of these vamps to show up at my uncle Remy's door. I realized suddenly that I really missed Hunter and uncle Remy and that I should probably call them when I get the chance.

"I felt it." He said after a moment.

"Excuse me?" I said looking into his blue eyes. _Wow…_

"When Sookie passed. It was like someone had ripped out my soul."

For the second time that night I was speechless. The way he said it was so emotional. I have never heard of vampires caring for anyone (other than themselves) especially humans so much. I had always thought that vampires looked at humans as more of a 'to go meal' rather than a possible companion or partner. I fidgeted with the hem of my dress keeping my eyes down cast.

"I never knew her. She died when I was born." I said slowly. "I am sorry." I couldn't figure out if I was apologizing to Eric or to myself, probably both.

"As am I."

Our food arrived then. I made myself ear slowly and respectfully. Mr. Northman took slow sips from his bottle watching my every move. I could feel him testing his power on me. It was like little tweaks to my brain here and there, I could feel it roll off like water on a duck. I was beginning to get nervous, but Mr. Northman didn't look upset in fact his face brightened and he grinned. It really was something.

"You are like Sookie aren't you?" He asked after a while the smile still playing on his lips.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." I said slowly. I knew my mother had the same problem as Hunter and I. Hunter only vaguely remembered my mom coming over and training him to control and use his powers.

Eric Northman raised his perfect blonde eyebrows and smiled knowingly. "Oh, but I think you do."

"Eric," I turned in my seat to see the new comer to our table, Pam the vampire from the 'sting' operation Hunter made me assist him with. I could almost feel my face blanch. She knew what Hunter and I were, she most certainly already told Northman so why had he bothered asking me? To get my reaction maybe? "We need to get back. Victor is waiting." Pam looked right at me and grinned showing a little fang, "Kira dear, how nice to see you again."

I nodded in response.

Eric stood slowly. _Geez…_ he had to be at least 6'2". He looked down at me and gently took my hand in his own large one. "I will be in touch." He said sexily that handsome smile playing on is perfect face. He surprised me when he kissed the back of my hand and I had to suppress the urge to sigh. He was walking away before I could say anything else.

"Bill will be taking you home." Pam said as a tall vampire with dark hair and dark eyes walked up behind her. "Believe it or not…you have made my master very happy." She whispered in my ear before she left me alone with Bill.

_So this is my neighbor_…Bill was wearing a nice suit with his dark hair combed back. He had longish side burns and perfectly sculpted lips. His eyes were a darker brown than his hair which was saying something since he had really dark brown hair. He stood still regarding me as I had him.

"Just let me know when you are ready to leave." His voice was so cool, so smooth.

"Now is fine unless you want to stay?"

The edge of his mouth twitched with what I hoped was a smile. (Getting on a vampire's nerves is really ill advised.) "No, now is fine."

Bill pulled my chair out as I stood and lead me to the door. I wondered who had paid for dinner. Bill held the door open for me and the chill of the night air made me wrap my arms around myself in an attempt to keep warm. I turned to see Bill shrugging of his coat.

"What are you…" was all I managed to say before he gently placed his coat on my shoulders. I was surprised to find it was very warm. I snuggled deeper into it. "Thank you." I mumbled because I had pushed it up past my ears. Placing his hand on my lower back he lead me to his car. Bill's car was a black BMW. He led me around to the passenger side and opened the car door for me. I slipped inside the car and found that the interior was leather. In the blink of an eye Bill was in the driver's seat starting the car. We pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home.

"You were my mom's boyfriend for a while, weren't you?" I asked after a while.

"Yes I was." He said with his cool voice. Oddly enough I found it rather soothing.

"If you don't mind me asking…what happened between you two?"

There was a moment of silence. "We met under false pretenses and I didn't tell her the truth. I loved Sookie in a way I will love no one else. I will regret for the rest of my existence not telling her the truth."

_Wow…_

I looked at Bill watching him watch the road. I don't know how but I knew he meant it. Unthinking I place my hand on his arm (vampires really aren't touchy feely) and thought, _If it had been me, I would have forgave you. I am sorry._

"What?" Bill said with alarm in his voice.

I pulled my hand back quickly, "What what?"

"What did you say?" he said looking at me.

"I didn't say anything." I said slowly the look on Bill's face scared me. He wasn't watching the road, he was looking me in the eyes.

"Kira, can you read my mind?" His eyes were piercing; they looked as black as coals.

"No" it was no more than a breath.

He turned back to face the road. "What did you do just then?"

"I didn't do anything." I said still whispering. "What…what happened?" I asked since I really did not know.

It was silent for a while before he said, "I heard you talking but it was like you were under water. And I felt…" he shook his head.

I could feel the heat rising in my face again. The only other person who had been able to read my mind, who could feel what I felt was Hunter.

"Can you read my mind?" I asked Bill in a hushed tone.

"No," He said his brows furrowed with concentration.

A thought came to me then. I reached out slowly and touched his arm again. _Can you hear me?_ I laughed a little recalling that cell phone commercial.

Wide eyed Bill turned to look me in the eyes. "Yes, I can."

The rest of the car ride was the two of us testing my ability. We found that when Bill concentrated really hard while I was touching his skin I could pick up bits and pieces of what he was trying to convey. Without the contact of skin and a great amount of concentration on Bill's part he was a coid as all vampires were.

"I wonder if it's just you or all vampires." I said.

"Don't tell anyone, especially other vampires that you can do this." Bill said sternly. "We like our privacy and some might try to use you."

That thought had never occurred to me. Sure, Hunter would work for vamps every once in a while but he also worked for humans and weres. He always got paid though. I have never thought that a vamp could force me to use my abilities to their own ends. The thought sobered me. We pulled onto Hummingbird Drive and I was wondering if Bill might ever try to use me.

"I have nothing to gain from using you Kira." He said quietly.

I jumped; I had forgotten that I had been holding Bill's hand. I pulled my hand from his own embarrassed. "I'm sorry." I said after a moment.

We pulled into my drive way the headlights illuminating my new, old house. As I stepped out of the car carefully, I felt rather than saw that something was wrong. "Bill…" I said slowly turning back to the car. Before I could finish what I was going ot say Bill was out of the car and on the porch.

"Stay in the car." He ordered.

"You may enter my house!" I call after him as I climbed back into the car and shut the door. I watched as Bill pushed open the front door and entered into the dark house. Bill reappeared a moment later scanning the yard. He got back behind the wheel and put the car in reverse.

"What? What's wrong? What happened?" I asked scared.

Bill didn't answer me instead he flipped open his cell phone and hit a number on speed dial. "We have a problem." Was all the said then was silent. "She's with me. I'm taking her to my house." Another moment of silence then he hung up.

"Bill tell me what's going on!" This was as close to hysterical as I had ever come to in my life.

"Someone has left a dead body in your house." He said calmly with his silky cool voice.


	8. Chapter 8

So I have had a few days off and I've been busy busy busy writing for all of you. Let it be my Christmas present to you! Ta-da! I hope you like it! So it might be a while til the next chapter is out since I have all my family stuff going on in the next week (I'm sure you-all do too). Don't worry though every time I get a minute I'll be writing. :D

In this chapter we get a delightful surprise, a couple of answers, and a fun cliff hanger (SORRY! I gotta keep you guys coming back for more!).

You guys are so awesome for writing me so many nice reviews! Lol, and to answer the questions you have about the story…be patient all will be revealed in time! :D

Enough jabbering from me though! MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!

**Chapter 8**

It took a while for me to calm down. When I finally did calm down I started pelting Bill with questions. Bill ushered me into his house closing and locking it behind us.

"How did this happen? Who would do this? Why would anyone do this? Who was it?"

Bill decided to answer my last question first. "Her name is Bethany Harper. She was a waitress at Merlotte's."

I sat down heavily on the couch putting my head in my hands. "Oh God." I choked a bit. Bethany the waitress at Merolette's who wanted to get back with Dillon.

"Who did you call before?" I asked looking at Bill.

"Eric." He responded.

"Why?"

"Because he is area five's sheriff."

"Should we call the police?"

Bill looked at me his eyebrows raised.

"I am going to take that as a no…is there a reason why?" I placed my hands on my lap trying to keep myself from shaking. "Or do I even want to know?"

"I won't give you the details, but it was violent."

I couldn't stop shaking then. "Why? Why would someone do this?"

"Kira…" Bill started.

"Why would someone kill her and then leave her in my house? Or kill her in my house?" I added as an afterthought.

"That's a good question," Bill said, "but for now I think you need to get some sleep."

After so many shocks tonight I was beginning to feel numb. "Bill I am not going to sleep. There is a dead lady in my house."

"You need not worry about that we will take care of the clean up." Bill's cool voice flowed over me like a waterfall. I could only imagine if Bill's glamour could affect me. I chuckled to myself; Bill could talk a girl out of her panties without glamour with that smooth cool voice of his. Before I could say anything else Bill scooped me up in his arms and took me upstairs.

_Bill you won't tell Eric about what I can do will you? _I had rested my head on his chest.

"No," he whispered in my ear giving me goose bumps. "I won't."

I didn't look at the room we had gone into because I was looking into Bill's dark brown eyes. He flipped back the covers with one hand while the other kept a firm grip on me. He gently set me down on the bed. He bent in front of me to take my shoes off. His soft cool hands brushing my ankles as he did so. He looked up into my face then, "Kira may I brush your hair?"

That took me aback. "Uh, sure…if you want."

Bill went over to the dresser which was across from the bed and returned to sit behind me on the bed. Carefully he took out the pins which had been holding my hair. Bit by bit my hair came down. After Bill had taken out all the pins he started to brush my hair with long even strokes. I closed my eyes the steady even pace was lulling me into sleep.

"Lay down now Kira; get some sleep." Bill gently nudged me into a laying position and pulled the covers up to my shoulders. I closed my eyes for a moment and when I opened them again he was gone.

I don't know what time it was when I woke up but it was still very dark outside. I knew I wasn't alone even though I couldn't see well in the dark.

"Who's there?" I asked trying to keep the fear out of my voice.

A shadow stepped from the darkness. "Don't be afraid." Eric Northman's voice came from the shadowed figure.

"Eric?" I asked still trying to wake up fully. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you. It seems you have the same tendencies as you mother did for getting into trouble." He chuckled, I had never known vampires to have a sense of humor.

"I haven't done anything." I said annoyed that he should think it would be my fault that Bethany died because me. That thought bothered me.

"Of course not." He said cheekily. "All the same, I thought I would check on you and see how you were fairing."

"I'm as good as a person can be when they find someone had been murdered in their house." I said indignantly.

Eric moved faster than I could follow and he was sitting beside me where I lay in the bed. "I am glad to hear it." He said one hand on the side of my face; his face so close to mine our noses almost touching. My heart was hammering in my chest and I had to focus to keep my breathing normal. Through the dim light I could see Eric grin his fangs showing. "Are you scared of me Kira?"

"No." I said, I wasn't shaking because I was scared and I was pretty sure he knew that. Eric's eyes gleamed in the darkness.

"Eric," Bill's voice came from the door way and he didn't sound too happy about what he saw.

"Yes Bill?" Eric's tone was antagonizing.

"Victor wishes to speak with you." Bill's voice was ice.

"Certainly." Eric said unmoving. "Tell him I will be there momentarily."

Bill stood in the door way waiting for a moment. Had he still been alive I could see him tapping his foot at Eric instead he just stood there a while. In a second he was gone.

"I must leave you now, but don't worry I will visit you again soon." Leaning in close his soft cool lips brushed mine in a gentle kiss. Before I could have a reaction he was gone.

I sat in silence too stunned to move. It took me a moment to realize I had been holding my breath. With a shaky sigh I laid back on the bed my mind whirling. As I closed my eyes to sleep I wondered just who "Victor" was and how did he have the power to control Northman. Before I could really begin to ponder this little mystery sleep took me over.

I woke up in a strange place. It took me a few minutes to remember that I had stayed at Bill's place because someone had killed Bethany in my house. I sat straight up in bed then, the morning sun filtered in through the window. I wondered if Bill had really cleaned my house last night. I didn't have long to think about it because my phone started to ring. I jumped out of bed and scrambled over to the dresser which had my purse on it (I suppose Bill had put it there). I rummaged through my purse and pulled out my cell phone the caller ID told me my uncle Jason was calling. _Oh boy…_

"Hello?" I said into the phone.

"WHERE ARE YOU?" My uncle practically roared. I actually held the phone at arm's length my ear drum screaming in protest.

"I'm at Bill Compton's house." I said calmly, too bad this was a phone call over the years I had learned that I could send calming thoughts to people which in turn calmed them down. Sadly though it only worked in person so I sat on the edge of the bed listening to my uncle rant on about how I should have called him and that he would have come and got me.

"I am sorry I didn't think to call you. It's really no big deal." I said slowly and honestly. "I didn't want to bother you."

Silence followed, "Kira," he said after a lengthy pause, "You are family if you need me I will be there."

"I didn't mean to worry you." I said, "Really I'm totally fine."

"Well I'll be there in a bit to pick you up."

"No," I said a little too quickly. I had actually planned to check on my house to see if it really had been cleaned up. "Uh, I'm on my way to my house anyway. Thanks anyway uncle Jason."

After a short argument about whether he should come over or not (which after much convincing on my part he said that he would call later) I slipped my shoes back on and grabbed my purse headed out. Making my way carefully through the old grave yard I wondered how often my mother made this same trip back to her house. My face heated up as I thought about Bill. I could see what she had seen in Bill the vampire. I could also see what attracted her to Eric. My face burned hotter as I thought about last night. _My first kiss…_I gingerly touched my lips with my finger tips remembering the feel of his lips on mine. I pushed the thought away as I exited the tree line spotting my house. Was it really clean now? Who would have done such a thing to Bethany and why? By the time I reached the back porch I was shaking. I pulled the keys out of my purse and placed the correct key in the lock. I slowly opened the door tense and ready to run back to Bill's place. I peeked around the door and into the kitchen. Everything seemed ok. I took a couple of tentative steps inside looking around for anything out of place.

_Nothing…_I made my way to the living room looking all around. I found the same thing in every room. Nothing was out of place and maybe it was my imagination but my house actually seemed cleaner. I sighed, relieved a bit. I returned to the living room and inspected the front door. I recalled from last night that Bill had opened the door no problem which told me that whoever had broken into the house had done so from the front. I noticed that there was a new lock and a chain which had not been there before. I guessed that Bill had the same thoughts as I had and threw a couple of new locks on my door. I went back to the kitchen and sat down at the table throwing my purse on the table. All the contents spilled out. I sighed and started picking up what had fallen into the floor. I noticed the thick envelope had fallen under the table and picked it up reading once again my name written in simple print. My mother had written this to me before she had died. I straightened in my seat the envelope in both hands. Now was a good enough time as any. I flipped the envelope over and opened it.

_My Dearest Kira,_

_If you are reading this then I am no longer with you. I am writing this so that you will know what happened. It had been my experience that vampires like secrets and rather than waiting for one of the m to tell you what happened (which would probably take a while) I will just tell you myself. The vampires from Vegas cannot be trusted, especially Victor. After the vampires from Los Vegas took over Louisiana, Eric was the only vampire from the old regime to survive. Victor wants Eric's job, but there is no way for Victor to legally take it. He sent his minions more than one time to kill me in order to provoke Eric to make a mistake. Eric decided that it would be best if I went into hiding. Kira, you must be careful. No matter how charming a vampire can be remember they are dangerous! I know you are like me, dearest, I can hear you even now. I want you to know that you can trust Eric. He will keep you safe. I also believe that Bill is also trust worthy. He almost died for me once and I believe he will do the same for you. Kira I love you with all my heart and I only want for you to be happy and safe. Trust in Eric, trust in Bill they will do their best to keep you safe, but do not depend on them you must be able to stand on your own two feet. Remember stay away from the Los Vega vampires, stay away from Victor. I love you my dearest daughter._

A knock at the door made me jump out of my seat. I folded the letter back into the envelope carefully and rose to go to the front door. My mind a frenzy of thoughts I didn't even check the peep hole to see who was at the door. I opened the door the bright morning sun hit me full on in the face. I squinted trying to see the figure standing in front of me.


	9. Chapter 9

I am so sorry it took me so long to get this out! I have had a major writers block then I lost my jump drive which had my stories on it! D:

I want to give azucar69 a special thank you for your concern! It really meant a lot to me.

**Chapter 9**

It was a man about my age. He had curly black hair and forest green eyes. He stood a good head taller than me and he had the red buzz of were about him.

"Excuse me, miss, but are you Kira?" he asked his voice was deep.

"Yes." I said slowly warily.

"My name is Luke Herveaux, my dad is Alcide." If that was supposed to mean something to me I had no clue what it was. I stood silently in my door way looking at Luke expectantly. "Uh, Eric asked my dad to send someone over to, uh, guard you."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "I really appreciate you coming all the way out here but I can take care of myself. So you can go back home now." Eric was starting to get on my nerves and he wasn't even around. I didn't need or want a body guard.

"I didn't mean to offend you." He said quickly trying to recover. "Eric called my dad last night and said that someone might be after you and since your mom was a friend of the pack that means you are too."

_Friend of the pack? _I personally didn't have much dealing with werewolves (or vampires up until now) so that was a new one on me. "Well I'm very glad to be your friend and all but I don't need guarding. Besides even if you did guard me who would you be guarding me from?"

"Anyone who would want to hurt you." He said honestly. He was ready to prove himself to his dad and he felt that this was his big chance. He would prowl around in the woods around my house if I told him to get lost.

I sighed resigned to having a body guard. It seemed that I was going to have one whether I liked it or not and I was raised better than to kick someone on their butt for trying to help me. "Come on in." I turned to go back into the kitchen. "I don't have much by the way of drinks. I do have some room temp sodas though if you want one. I just moved in so yea…"

"That's fine." He said politely he looked around my living room taking everything in. He followed me to the kitchen and took a seat at the table. I grabbed a soda out of the box and handed it to him.

"I have some things I have to do around the house so I guess just make yourself comfortable." I felt bad about the tone in my voice but I couldn't help it. I had too much on my mind and I didn't want company.

"Thanks." He said pleasantly. He was wondering why I was dressed up so early in the morning.

"I slept in this." I said bitingly my face was hot. His was pale.

"What?" he said quietly.

_Shit…_ "Nothing." I said retreating to my bedroom. I fell face first onto the bed. How in the hell had my life gotten so complicated? How did everything in my life take such a turn? A girl had been killed and in my house and for what reason? I sighed deciding to take a shower. I turned the water on to let it warm up while I undressed. I stepped in the shower the hot water felt good. I could feel my muscles relaxing slowly. I took a minute to reach out with my mind to find out where Luke was. From what I could tell he was outside. As I finished rinsing off I decided I would apologize since none of this was really his fault and I had been treating him like it was. I dried off with a towel I had gotten at Wal-Mart when Dillon had taken me. I pulled a white sun dress with red flowers on it out of the closet. I had found it when I had been cleaning out the bed room closet and I had washed it at my uncles. I slipped it on and headed outside where I sensed Luke to be. I stuck my head out the back door and looked around. I didn't actually see him anywhere but I knew right where he was because of the red vibes I picked up from him. As I neared the tree line Luke exited the shadow of a tall tree his hands in his pockets.

"Look…" we both said in unison.

We both laughed a little nervously.

"I'm sorry." I said quickly. "I didn't mean to be such a jerk back there. It's just…I just moved and a lot of crazy stuff has happened and I really don't know how to deal with it all."

Luke looked at his shoes kicking the dirt, "Well if you want to talk about it I can always listen." He looked up at me his face was flushed.

His honesty surprised me. "I appreciate it."

Luke smiled "My pleasure."

We walked back to the house in silence. Although he offered to listen to what I had to say I wasn't ready to open myself to a complete stranger. "If you will excuse me I have to make a phone call."

Luke nodded and headed into the living room. I retrieved my cell phone from my purse which was still on the kitchen table. I hit Hunter's speed dial and walked into my bedroom shutting the door behind me.

"KIRA!" I jumped Hunter had practically screamed in my ear.

"I'm not deaf Hunter you don't have to yell…although I probably am deaf now."

"I was beginning to think you had up and died. You said you would call…I…we miss you ya know?"

"I'm sorry Hunter…its just that a lot of stuff has happened…"

"What's wrong Kira? What's happened?" Even though we can read each other's mind over the phone Hunter knew me well enough to know when something was wrong.

"Hunter…I really need you here." Suddenly I had never felt so alone.

"Kira what's happened? Are you in trouble?"

I really didn't know if I was in fact in trouble or not. I didn't feel very safe with someone leaving a dead body in my house. How in the hell was I even suppose to tell Hunter that? I had taken our connection for granted all those years. Things would be so much easier if he were here. Hunter was smart and could figure out what was going on. I straightened my back and tried to steady my voice.

"Hunter I want to hire you."

"Kira…" Hunter started.

"Hunter I need you to get down here as soon as possible so you can begin work." Before he could say anything I hung up.

I walked back into the kitchen putting my phone back into my purse. "Hey Luke…" I called from the kitchen.

I heard his heavy footsteps headed in my direction and I could hear his curiosity in his brain. Hunter had always told me I could "hear" people better than he could; weres included. While he usually only sensed emotions, I could pick up words along with feelings.

"Yea?" he asked as he entered the kitchen.

"Will you take me to Shreveport?"

Luke blanked then. He had no clue why I would want to go to Shreveport. "Sure…but why?"

"I want to meet your father. I have some questions for him."


	10. Chapter 10

O-kay! Chapter 10 hot off the presses! I'm gonna have to dedicate this chapter to my son since Monday is his 2nd birthday! Happy Birthday boy! :D

Thanks to everyone who continues to read! It always brightens my day to have a new review to read. :D *hugs all the readers!*

ENJOY!

**Chapter 10**

The drive to Shreveport was quiet. I watched the country side go by and before I knew it we were entering into the Shreveport's business district. I had thought maybe Luke's father, the leader of the weres in these parts, might be able to give me some answers. Luke had said that my mother had been a friend of the pack. _Whatever that means…_And that made me a friend of the pack as well. I had thought at the time it was a good idea, the closer we got to our destination I wasn't feeling so sure. I sighed fiddling with the hem of my summer dress.

What if Alcide refused to answer my questions? What if he thought I was being ungrateful since he did send his son to watch over me for the day? I pushed my doubts aside and tried to focus on the questions I would ask. Maybe I would be able to read his mind enough to get my answers even if he refused. I knew it was really rude to go about it that way but hell someone died in my house last night!

We pulled into the parking lot in front of a very tall business building.

"Here we are." Luke said getting out.

I had to jump to get out of Luke's Dodge Ram. Luke was standing in front of his truck with a broad smile on his face.

"Shut up." I said indignantly.

"Didn't say a word." He said his hands up.

"Not out loud…" I said in retort under my breath. He had in fact "said" many things which only I could hear, but they were only playful thoughts and since he really hadn't said them out loud I really couldn't get onto him.

We walked to the large glass double doors and he held one open for me. I took a second to look around and it looked like any other office building. Well actually to me it looked more like a bank with all the paintings and the red and gold rug on the floor. Luke ushered me to the elevator and pushed the up arrow. The doors dinged and opened to a bland wallpapered elevator. We stepped into the elevator and Luke pushed the 12 button the doors shut and we rode up in silence. When the doors opened again the décor wasn't as glam as the first floor but I knew better than to touch anything.

An older woman was sitting behind the desk her hair was held in a neat bun behind her head. She was a no nonsense sort of person and she thoughts very highly of her boss and his family. So when Luke walked in she was all smiles. She thought I was terribly cute and wondered if Luke and I were dating. I could feel my face redden and I had to try really hard to shut her out. Some people were just like that. Their every thought and idea is basically thrown into my face whether I really want to know it or not.

"Hello Mrs. Claire, we've come to see my father. Is he available?" Oh boy, did she think he was just the bee's knees. Such a polite boy, especially for his age. Her own son didn't speak so politely to her.

"Oh yes! He's just in his office working go on, go on! It's alright! He'll be happy to see you I'm sure." She didn't' even mind that Luke and his dad were weres, actually that's part of why she liked them so much. She wanted to be a were so badly. She hoped one day they might bite her so she could join them and their pack.

We passed her desk and Luke knocked on the door at the end of the small hallway. "Come in." A deep voice said from the other side.

Luke opened the door and I got my first look at Alcide, the Shreveport pack leader. He had been studying some papers on his desk but when we came in her looked up. He looked like an older version of Luke.

"Luke what are you doing here?" Alcide asked his son. I picked up that he was worried something had happened.

"Kira was wantin' to meet cha." Luke said worried he had done the wrong thing.

Alcide turned to me for the first time. His brain was a red buzz of emotion. The foremost emotion was sorrow. Sorrow that he hadn't been able to help or protect Sookie better, but he was determined that he was going to protect her daughter.

"Kira," Luke said turning to me, "This is my father and the pack leader of the Longtooths, Alcide Herveaux."

"It's good to meet you, sir." I said nervously.

"It's good to meet you as well Miss Kira." He said easily with his husky voice. "My office really isn't the best place to entertain folk." He said gesturing to his messy office filled with piles of papers. "How 'bout we go out to eat and talk for a bit?"

"Oh, sure." I said.

Alcide ushered us back out the door and toward the elevator. Mrs. Claire stood when we came back out and was about to say, well a lot of stuff but Alcide cut off her words with a wave of his hand.

"I'm going out to eat lunch Mrs. Claire. I'll be back in an hour."

"Of course you-all have a good time!"

We stepped into the elevator and Alcdie hit the 1 button.

"What do you think of Mrs. Claire?" Alcide asked me casually.

"She's…nice." I said slowly. "She has a lot of respect for you."

Alcide nodded putting his hands in his pockets. The elevator doors dinged and opened to the first floor.

"Let's eat at Hair of the Dog." Alcide said as we walked out the front door. "Kira would you like to ride with me?"

"Ok." I said nervously.

I followed Alcide to his truck looking back once to see Luke getting into his own truck. We locked eyes for a moment and Luke smiled encouragingly. I smiled back and opened the passenger door, climbing in. I noted that Alcide's truck was nice and frequently used.

"Sorry 'bout the mess." He said a bit abashed moving rolled papers and his hard hat into the back.

"It's ok." I said with a smile.

After clearing some space Alcide took his place behind the wheel. As we pulled out of the parking lot I noticed Luke's truck pull out behind us.

"I get the feeling that you weren't just wanting to see me."

"I…uh…well…" I stuttered _and I thought I was the telepath…_

"You can ask me what you want, _cher._" He said with a shrug. "I'll answer you if I can."

I took a deep breath placing my hands in my lap turning a bit to face the Longtooth pack leader. "I'm assuming that you already know about what Bill found in my house last night?"

"I do." He said slowly.

"Did my mom have very many enemies?" I asked after a moment.

Alcide threw his head back and laughed. "I'd never met a woman who had so many enemies." He looked at my face and sobered quickly. "Or so many friends."

"Do you think that maybe one of them was trying to threaten me?"

"it's possible. Although they would have to know 'bout you though. Can't say there's very many people who knew Sookie had a daughter. Shit even I didn't know until last night. Seems kind of odd to me that Northman didn't know about you. He kept all kinds of tabs on your mother before she moved away."

"Eric kept tabs on my mom?" I asked.

"Mhm, was rather possessive if you ask me. Constantly worried about her, had a guard day and night."

"He thought she was in danger?"

"Seemed that way. I don't keep up with vampire affairs but I do know about that Victor. Met him once, hate him. Him and his lackey Henry I believe it was. Something not right about that one."

I was cold suddenly. I remembered that name. I wondered if it was the same vampire from Little Rock who had been trying so hard to make his powers work on me. If he had known my mother would he then know me? If so then Victor knew about me. My head was spinning. Could Victor have killed Bethany and left her in my house? No, because I would have had to invite him in, but that didn't rule out the fact that he could have hired someone to do it for him.

We pulled into a scary looking parking lot and parked by a dingy looking building.

"We're here." Alcide said opening his door.

I opened my door and got out carefully. The parking lot was dirty littered with trash and other unsavory things. I followed Alcide to the door somewhat unstably. Even though it was broad daylight I had the urge to turn and run. I heard Luke's truck pull up. Alcide was already at the door while I had only taken a few steps. My limbs felt heavy and it was hard for me to even breathe.

"Hey," Luke said walking up behind me touching my hand, "Are you ok?"

I turned my head slowly with tears in my eyes from the strain. Luke's eyes went wide when he saw my face.

"Oh God Kira! I'm so sorry I forgot about the ward!"

Before I could form a thought Luke picked me up and carried me to the door.

"Sorry 'bout that Kira. We don't usually allow humans here and there's a ward on the place to keep them out." Alcide said apologetically.

Being in Luke's arms was embarrassing but the compressing feeling was gone so I didn't mind. "It's ok." I said looking anywhere but at Luke or his father.

Alcide held the door open while Luke carried me inside I didn't look up when we entered but I knew there were five weres in the bar and everything went quiet when we came in. I chanced a glance up and saw two female weres and three males. They were looking at Luke and I.

"She should be ok inside. The ward is only set outside." Alcide said walking around Luke and taking a seat at one of the empty tables. Alcide got nods and quiet hellos from all the weres in the bar.

Luke set me down gently mumbling something following his father to the table. Touching people allowed me to read their minds much easier and while Luke had been holding me I had found that he was embarrassed and had also been enjoying himself.

I sat down across from Alcide. A woman with dark hair and brown eyes walked up to the table. She was curious about me and wanted to know what was going on.

"Karen," Alcide said before she got to say anything. "Will you tell Ben we'll have the usual?"

Karen's mouth opened then shut with a snap and she nodded her head turning on her heel walking to what I guessed was the kitchen.

"Has Luke been bothering you today?" Alcide asked me after a moment.

"Oh no!" I said caught off guard. "He's been great."

Alcide's mouth pulled up into a half smile. Luke was looking into the far corner and I could feel my face getting hot.

"He's teasing me." Luke said sounding annoyed.

Luke had begged his father to be chosen to guard me so he could prove that he could handle himself. He didn't' want to be seen as the pack leader's son. He wanted to be known for who he was not who his father was. I didn't notice that Alcide had been talking to me until he said my name.

"Huh?" I said dazed, I had been lost in Luke's thoughts which mirrored my own. The realization that these people wanted me to replace my mom upset me deeply. It wasn't something I believed I could do or even wanted to do. I was my own person.

"I asked if the vampires had found any clues as to who might have done it."

"Well if they did, they didn't share that information with me."

"I did some lookin' around pop." Luke chimed in.

Alcide and I both turned to look at him. Alcide was wondering why he hadn't said something sooner but kept his mouth shut. "Find anything?" He asked instead.

"It was difficult to pick anything out since that vamp came in and cleaned everything, but I did pick something up outside granted the camp smell was outside too." He paused to take a breath. "I followed the trail for a while but since I was supposed to be guarding Kira I stopped when it lead to the road."

"Good work Luke." Alcide said rubbing his chin. "I'll send Leigh-Ann to follow the whole trail."

Luke beamed with pride. His father rarely gave out compliments.

Our food came then. I found that the "usual" was a burger which was fine with me. I was starving. We ate in silence but it wasn't uncomfortable. When we finished Alcide shook my hand and handed me his business card. I thanked him for his time and put his card in my purse. Luke escorted me out the door and to his truck. He said goodbye to his father and got into his truck. We drove back to Bon Temps listening to the radio. It was late afternoon when we got back to my house.

"Luke," I said as we pulled into my drive way. "I just wanted to say thank you."

Luke parked in front and killed the engine. He turned to look at me, "For what?" He asked genuinely confused.

"For helping me." I said honestly.

"It was my pleasure." He said just as honestly.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Luke and I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and talking. I told Luke that he need not help me with the house work but he insisted. We cleaned the front and back porch in no time. We talked about our childhood, families, and normal things. It had been the first time since I had moved that I had a normal conversation with someone which didn't include my mother's past and questions I couldn't answer.

"So, uh…" Luke said looking up from the checkers game we were playing. I had found it when I had cleaned the bedroom closet the other day and suggested that we play for a bit.

"Yeah?" I said concentrating on where I was going to move my next piece.

"You got a boyfriend back home?"

I suppressed a laugh, "Do you think I have a boyfriend?"

"Well I don't see why you wouldn't…" He started.

"Well I don't." I said cutting him off and moving my red piece jumping one of his blacks.

"Why not?" He asked after a while.

"He'd have to get through my cousin Hunter first." I said with a grim smile.

Being that Hunter and I could read minds, which made us a little weird, the other kids tended to stay away from us. When a boy was brave enough to approach me Hunter would pick up on his intentions and would run him off. Hunter never really had any problems with girls but he wouldn't stay with anyone girl for long. Trying to be normal around people was hard enough but, dating someone with my _little problem_ seemed impossible. Besides that I always had Hunter so I never felt like I needed a boyfriend. Our silent connection made us closer than anyone could ever be.

"Oh yea?" Luke asked with a cocky grin.

"Yea." I said laughing quietly, "So where's your girlfriend at then?" I said looking around the room teasingly.

"I'm not sure." He said looking into my eyes. I stopped laughing and looked back into his own green eyes. I knew he wanted to kiss me and to ask me out. I also knew that it would freak him out if I randomly answered _yes_ to an unasked question so we sat there, looking at one another the tension building. Right as Luke opened his mouth to speak a knock at the door interrupted him. I checked the clock on my phone and it told me it was 6 p.m. I reached out with my mind and registered a vampire.

Before I could say anything Luke was up off the floor where we had been playing and in front of the door, looking through the peep hole. Luke made a 'tisk' noise with his tongue and said, "It's your neighbor Bill. Should we let him in?"

"Don't be rude." I said walking over to the door and shooing Luke away so I could open the door. "Good evening Mr. Compton." I said when I opened the door. Bill's face changed when he saw me I couldn't place the expression, but when he saw Luke the cold wall was back in place.

"Miss Kira I came by to see how you are." Bill said his cool voice had an edge to it.

"Oh I…"

"As you can see, she's fine." Luke said cutting me off. He didn't like Bill, well it wasn't just Bill. He didn't like vampires period.

"You've done a good job today." Bill said smoothly ignoring Luke's harsh tone. "But you can go home now."

Luke's face turned red his hands were tight fists. "Ain't no vamp gonna tell me what to do. I'll leave if Kira wants me to." Luke didn't want me to be alone with a vampire.

"Luke," I said placing my hand on his shoulder attempting to sooth him "don't worry, I'll be fine."

Luke raised his eyebrows in question. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"If you need me, you got my number." Luke said placing both hands on my shoulders looking into my eyes.

"I will." I said with a shy smile.

Satisfied Luke nodded at me and pushed past Bill who was still standing in the door way.

"Everything go ok today?" Bill asked once Luke was gone.

"Yes nothing remarkable." I said as I start to clean up.

There was silence while I picked up the remaining pieces of our game. I wanted to ask Bill about the trail that Luke Had found today. I also wanted to ask him about Victor and Henry, but I didn't know how best to broach the subject so I decided to be direct. When I looked up at Bill he was calmly watching me. If I didn't know better I would have to say he was waiting for me to begin.

"Luke said that he found an unfamiliar scent trail in and around my house. He said it lead to the road but couldn't follow it all the way. Did you notice anything when you were uh, cleaning up?"

"I did. Although my sense of smell isn't as powerful as some I did follow it for a while but a ways down the road it disappeared. I'm assuming they got into a car and drove away."

"You think Victor had something to do with it?" I asked cautiously.

"I find it unlikely." Bill said sitting down on the couch. "He is more likely to kill you than to send you a warning."

_That's not comforting._ I stared at the floor contemplating what I could do. I had no answers. "Someone is here." I said suddenly tense looking up at Bill. "It's a vampire."

Without hesitation or question Bill went to the door and opened it.

Eric stood on my porch in a tight black shirt and khaki pants. His hair was tied neatly at the nape of his neck. "Kira, dear, how are you doing this fine evening? Might I come in?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the extravagant way he spoke. "If you answer my questions." I said hands on my hips.

"It would be my pleasure." He said after a moment.

"You may come in Eric."

In the blink of an eye Eric had my hand in his own and his lips were caressing the back of my hand. "I am delighted to see that you are in such high spirits."

"Don't change the subject Eric," I said pulling my hand from Eric's grasp. "What am I suppose to do about Victor? I'd don't want anyone else, or me for that matter, to die in my house."

"I do not believe Victor was behind this." Eric said gliding across the room to gracefully sit on the couch. He patted the seat beside him on the couch indicating that I sit beside him. I opted to sit on the recliner and Bill took the couch across from the one Eric was occupying. Eric shot me a pouty face but I ignored it.

"Why are you so sure?" Bill asked Eric.

"Because Felipe would kill him." Eric said with a small chuckle.

"You told him about Kira?" Bill sounded outraged but his face was like a stone slab.

"I had to." Eric said sternly. "To protect her."

"Wait a second what the hell is going on?" I said confused.

"Felipe de Castro is the King of Los Vegas, Louisiana, and Arkansas." Bill said never taking his eyes off of Eric. "He is the only one who can control Victor."

"So that's good then right?" I said slowly.

Bill's eyes looked like two black voids. "Eric what did you do?"

Eric turned to me, "Felipe de Castro has offered you protection, but in return you are to serve him."

Afterward:

Just a couple of statements…

Sorry I've been neglecting my writing lately…T.T

I know people are probably going to ask me about Kira's and Hunter's relationship…Ok there is nothing sexual going on there they are like…brother and sister except deeper. Sharing feelings and thoughts with someone (I think) would make you feel closer to someone. Not only that but growing up with telepathy alone would be hard enough (as we all know from reading the novels) but since Kira and Hunter had one another they grew up relying on one another. Get it? I hope I explained that well enough. XD

Thanks for all the favorites, comments, and the general support! More to come soon! ~


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks for the support guys! :D

Entering into chapter 12 and we're gonna do a little detective work to figure out who really killed Bethany.

I know, I know, everyone wants to know who Kira's father is! BUT! We won't find out til later…

Enjoy!

**Chapter 12**

"WHAT?" I shrieked.

"Kira please calm down." Eric said soothingly which only made me angrier.

"So you basically sold me into slavery? To some stupid vampire king? Is this what I'm hearing?"

"It was the only way I could ensure your safety. I trust de Castro more than I trust Victor. So long as you are useful then you have Felipe's protection which is more than what I could do on my own. Over the years I have fewer and fewer under my employ that I can trust and those forces are not enough to ensure your safety." I sat silently staring at the floor listening but not wanting to. "Your mother served Queen Sophie in much the same way."

"I am not my mother's replacement!" I screamed jumping to my feet. "Stop comparing us! I am my own person!" I turned on my heel and stomped off to my bedroom. "AND GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" I added as I slammed my bedroom door. I flopped onto the bed and listened to the two voids exit the house and linger in the yard. A tiny part of me was curious as to what they were talking about but most of me just wanted them all to go away. I wished that I had never left Little Rock, wished that I had stayed with my uncle and Hunter.

A thought struck me as I lay there _Even if I had stayed Victor would have found me anyway thanks to Henry…_ there really would have been no escape from fate. Leaving was probably better than the latter, _Who knows what Victor and his goons would have done to us…_ I shuddered at the thought.

I still didn't like the fact that I was forced into a type of servitude to be allowed to live.

A light tapping at my window startled me out of my thoughts. "Kira?" Bill's voice. "May I come in?"

I lay on my bed considering. Bill had apparently not known what Eric had been planning so I shouldn't be angry with him. It really wasn't his fault. I got up out of bed and headed to the front door. I stepped out on the front porch Bill was there waiting. "Say what you've got to say out here." I said my arms folded. I couldn't help it I was still angry and Bill was the only one there to take it out on.

"I am sorry, last night Eric said he had a plan but he didn't confide in me what that plan was…If he had we might have come up with a different conclusion."

I stared off into the front yard a scowl plastered on my face.

"Kira, although Eric should have talked to you about his plan first this is really the best solution."

"I don't like being used." I said quietly.

"If you don't want to do this then we could run away." Bill said simply.

I looked at him then.

"Of course we wouldn't be able to stay anywhere for long. You would have to cut all your ties and become someone else. We would always be running but you would be free."

"Being a runaway isn't freedom." I said simply for the shortest of seconds I really wanted to runaway but the thought of never being able to talk to Hunter or my family again was too much to bear. "There really is no other way is there?" I said hopelessly.

"We could always kill Victor and de Castro." Bill said quietly so quietly that I almost didn't hear him.

My eyes snapped up to meet Bill's. "I-is that even possible?" I asked tentatively.

"Right now…no." Bill reached out to place a hand on my shoulder; _It's something to hope for._ His thoughts filled my mind and did give me a small glimpse of hope.

"So what exactly am I going to have to do for this de Crisco?" I asked shifting my weight to my right foot.

"It's de Castro." Bill corrected me. "Basically you will be collecting intel from the humans who work for him and for those of his followers."

"So…I'm a spy?" I asked thinking of James Bond.

"In a way…" Bill said slowly. "Closer to an interrogator."

I cringed at the thought.

"I will be watching your house tonight." Bill said pulling me back into conversation.

"What for?" I asked stupidly.

"Even if it wasn't Victor who left that woman in your house **someone** did. So at night I will be watching your house."

I had been so convinced that it had been Victor that the thought of it being someone else unsettled me. "Thank you Bill." I said honestly. I felt better knowing that Bill would be watching out for me.

"I will protect you." He said touching my face gently. I got only the slightest glimpse of his emotions with that small touch. It was an odd mix of determination and regret. Confused I went back inside and laid down on my bed once again. I knew I wasn't tired but I didn't know what else to do with myself. I got up after a while and went back outside. Bill was on the porch with me within a minute.

"Is everything ok?" He asked concerned.

"Yea," I said slowly. "hey Bill…will you tell me about my mom?"

A sad smile played on his lips. "What would you like to know?"

"How'd you meet my mom?" I asked curiously as I moved to set on the steps.

"She saved my life." Bill said taking a seat beside me.

"Saved you?" I asked even more curious.

"From drainers." He said simply.

I had heard of drainers before of course everyone had. Supposedly vampire blood had miraculous healing powers and was used as an aphrodisiac. However people who consumed vampire blood usually became addicted to it or tried to stop moving trains. Draining was illegal and dangerous to one's health in more ways than one.

We sat outside talking until about ten. I asked any question that came to my mind and Bill answered all of my questions simply giving no great detail.

For the first time in my life I had a clearer picture of Sookie Stackhouse than I had ever had before. She had been strong willed, smart, loving, and sometimes rather rash. I smiled as I imagined her sun tanning in this very yard.

"Thank you." I said to Bill.

"Sookie was an amazing woman," He said looking out into the darkness longingly, "I see a lot of the same traits in you as well. Everything will be alright. I will always be here should you need me."

I squeezed his arm and stood up. "Goodnight Bill." I said going back inside. I went to my room taking off my clothes and slipping into an oversized t-shirt. I crawled into bed and fell asleep.

I dreamed of when I was a child. It was a dream of what could have been. Mom and dad were sitting on the porch it was a bright beautiful day. I was playing in yard laughing and chasing butterflies. I turned to see them both smiling back at me. I ran up to them and jump in my father's lap. Mom leaned in to kiss me on the forehead dad wrapped his arms lovingly around me his long hair tickled my cheeks.

"Kira," dad said, "Kira wake up honey…"

"What?" I asked him looking up into his face. I couldn't see it clearly. It was as if his features had been rubbed out.

"Wake up Kira."

_Kira! Wake up! _It was Hunter calling me from outside.

_Hunter?_ I thought sluggishly still half asleep.

_You called me remember? You sounded like you were in trouble…Are you ok?...Can you let me in?_

In that moment I sat up straight in bed fully awake. I jumped out of bed rather clumsily and rushed to the front door. I undid the lock and threw the door open. Hunter was standing with a duffle bag and his brief case. He had basketball shorts on and a Razorback t-shirt on. I threw my arms around his neck. The contact of our differing emotions met and intertwined. His worry, fear, and genuine happiness to see me blended with my own joy and anxiety. I stepped back to allow him entry. Hunter walked into the living room dropping his things on the floor he turned and bear hugged me. _Now tell me what's happened._

Our way of communication is quicker than other peoples. I was able to convey all that happened within a matter of seconds. To anyone watching it just seemed as if we hadn't seen each other in a while and had no words.

_So let me get this straight…This Eric guy has hired you out to this 'King?'_ Hunter was trying to wrap his head around everything. I understood his confusion because to be honest I was pretty feakin' confused too. I had taken to showing Hunter around my new house and getting him settled in. We were walking back to the living room.

_Not in that way…_I thought giving Hunter a stern look.

_Right you're an interrogator…_Hunter mentally laughed. _Maybe I should find myself a Queen?_

I glared at him. _This isn't funny Hunter._

_So what did you need me here for? You said you wanted to hire me. _

_Well…it's about the girl Bill found in my house. I think someone is after me._

I sat down on the couch and Hunter went back into his room to find his favorite pen and pad. _Any suspects? _He thought going into detective mode. I was trying to make a list for him but from what Alcide said it was pretty long.

_Dang! _Hunter thought _You mom go around just pissin' everyone off or what?_

I scowled at Hunter as he came back into the room.

_Sorry _Hunter said apologetically. He had been trying to make light of the situation in order to cheer me up.

_If you want to cheer me up then help me._ I thought curling up with my knees under my chin.

Hunter sat down by me and threw his arm around me. _Don't worry. I will. _

A knock at the door made us both jump. When we close like this our minds would meld and it was easy to forget everything else. Together we reached out to find who what at the door. I recognized Luke's brain waves and I felt Hunter's annoyance. It was always a challenge to keep hold of my own emotions when Luke was around. His emotions had a tendency to eat my own.

_What's __**he**__ doing here? _Hunter thought reminding me of a guard dog. Which was funny since Luke was the werewolf. _I'm not a dog _Hunter interjected into my thoughts.

_His probably dad sent him here to keep an eye on me since the vampires have to sleep at night. _I thought reasonably. _Hunter don't be mean to him._

Hunter opened the door just enough for his frame to fit through the door. "Yes?" Hunter asked huffily.

I could tell that Luke was rather surprised and a little concerned. "Uh, is Kira here?"

"Hunter that's enough." I said sternly pushing Hunter out of the door way. _Don't be an ass. _"I'm sorry Luke. Would you like to come in?"

Luke crossed the threshold keeping his eye on Hunter who was doing the same. "Luke this is my cousin Hunter, Hunter this is Luke." I felt like I needed to keep talking because the tension in the room was a little thick. "I've hired Hunter to help me find who-ever killed Bethany."

"Oh?" Luke said.

"Back in Little Rock Hunter is a well known private eye." I said with some pride.

"So if you would excuse us we were about to head into town to question a few folks." Hunter said in a rather dismissive way.

"I'm suppose to watch over Kira so I'll come with you."

"No need." Hunter snapped. "I can watch Kira. If you want to be useful why don't you watch the house like a good puppy?"

"Hunter!" I was horrified never had Hunter been so vicious.

Hunter stormed out the door. "Luke I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault." Luke said slowly. He placed his big hand on my shoulder and smiled down at me. "You should go spend time with your cousin anyway. I'll watch the house and make sure that nobody leaves you anymore surprises."

I couldn't help but laugh a little. I glanced at the door and quickly kissed him on the cheek before I grabbed my purse to follow my cousin outside.


End file.
